Christmas for early Christianity

Christmas had to wait more than 300 years after the birth of Jesus before it began to be popularized in a meaningful way. Instead, the first Christians were focused on spreading the word about Christianity while avoiding official persecution, which began as early as A.D. 64 under the Roman emperor Nero. For the next two centuries and more, Christians endured prison and death at the hands of the Roman Empire, while Egyptian, Greek, and Persian gods continued to be worshiped freely.

In the first centuries A.D., the Roman Empire extended around the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing areas we now know as northern Africa (including Egypt), the Middle East (including present-day Israel, Jordan, and Syria), Europe (including France, England, Italy, and Greece), and the region where Europe borders Asia (Turkey).

Things began to change when Emperor Constantine, who came to power over the Roman Empire in 306, gradually converted to Christianity. As a result, Christianity became the state religion, and public funds were used to build churches. Constantine commissioned the building of the Church of the Nativity on a spot in Bethlehem that was believed to be the exact birthplace of Christ. By the end of the fourth century, the old forms of worship had been banned and Christianity began spreading.

Mistletoe

To this day, mistletoe—a parasitic plant that grows on oak and other non evergreen trees—is the only form of greenery not allowed inside many Christian churches during the holiday season. That’s because although other greenery was also used in pagan festivals, mistletoe was actually worshiped.

Both Druids and Romans considered the plant sacred, as a healing plant and a charm against evil. Mistletoe was thought to be the connection between earth and the heavens, because it grew without roots, as if by magic. It was also considered a symbol of peace; warring soldiers who found themselves under mistletoe quickly put down their weapons and made a temporary truce. In a related custom, ancient Britons hung mistletoe in their doorways to keep evil away. Those who entered the house safely were given a welcome kiss.

While the custom of kissing under the mistletoe lost popularity in most other countries, it remained popular in England and the United States. Today, most consider mistletoe an excuse for kissing and nothing more, but some people in France still brew it as a cure for stomach aches.

Christmas carols

Over the centuries Christmas has inspired countless songs. Which of the many pieces of vocal music written for Christmas qualify as true Christmas carols? Most writers assume Christmas carols to be those songs about Christmas whose tune and lyrics are widely known and whose popularity is maintained primarily through folk traditions rather than commercial promotions. By this definition, the fine Christmas works written by classical composers are not true Christmas carols, since they are musically quite complex and known to relatively small numbers of people. The fact that people sing carols for enjoyment and entertainment also figures in their definition.

This criterion might exclude a number of lesser-known church hymns, since people usually sing them only during church services. In addition, most carols take as their subject matter the legends, customs, or religious celebration of Christmas. Therefore, some people would not include popular songs such as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” or even the hit song “White Christmas” in a collection of carols, since these songs achieved popularity through commercial mechanisms and do not address traditional Christmas themes or religious celebration. Others might quarrel with these criteria, arguing that the subject matter of these songs and the manner in which they achieved popularity simply reflect the commercial interests and cultural outlook of the twentieth century.

Why are these traditional Christmas songs called “carols,” anyway? Some scholars trace the English word “carol” all the way back to the ancient Greek word coros. In ancient Greek drama the coros, or “chorus,” appeared from time to time during the play singing commentaries on the plot and often dancing as well. By the late Middle Ages, the word “carol” had come to mean singing and dancing in a circle, as children do when singing “Ring Around the Rosy.” In the Middle Ages people caroled on many different occasions. By the sixteenth century, however, this musical genre had acquired a special association with the Christmas season, while its earlier association with dance was fading away. Already a large number of Christmas carols circulated throughout Europe. A number of these, such as the English “I Saw Three Ships” and the German “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” are still sung today.

Christmas Bonus

As Christmas approaches, many American workers look forward to receiving a Christmas bonus, usually a lump sum of money added to their December paycheck. This Christmas gift from employer to employee may have been inspired by English Boxing Day customs.

Although the Christmas bonus began as a voluntary gift, it evolved into an expected increase in one’s December salary. By the late nineteenth century many American employers had adopted the custom of distributing Christmas bonuses among their workers. These personalized exchanges often takes place at office Christmas parties, another new, late nineteenth-century custom. The boss himself usually presented each worker with their presents or money.

Often the employer tied the gift to the employee’s performance during the year. Christmas bonuses became increasingly common throughout the last decades of the nineteenth century, but between 1900 and 1920, these kinds of personalized exchanges all but disappeared. Labor unions, which grew in numbers and in influence during this period, began to bring the issue of the Christmas bonus to the bargaining table. Unionists argued that workers depended on these bonuses and needed to know in advance approximately how much they would receive. They objected to the nineteenth-century practice whereby the bonuses were distributed according to the whims of managers and bosses. As the twentieth century rolled on, their arguments prevailed. Christmas bonuses were increasingly calculated according to agreed-upon formulas. These formulas often took into account such things as salary level and years of service.

In recent years the number of companies giving Christmas bonuses has declined. Some firms have switched to year-round incentive programs that reward effective employees. Others provide employees with a lavish Christmas party or a day off in lieu of a bonus. According to the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, D.C., about nine percent of companies with 1,000 or more workers distributed Christmas bonuses in 1999. Workers in small companies were luckier, with about 25 percent of their employers offering modest cash bonuses at Christmas time.

Brazil's visits and Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner provides a very special occasion for families and friends to visit. Brazilians eat Christmas dinner late in the evening on Christmas Eve. The meal often features roast turkey with farofa stuffing, which is made out of toasted manioc flour, onions, garlic, turkey livers and gizzards, olives, hard-boiled eggs, and bacon.

Other popular Christmas dishes include dried cod, an assortment of fruit, and a dessert called rabanada, which resembles French toast. Champagne, wine, and fruit punch often accompany the meal. Most families dine around 10 or 11 p.m. Afterwards, many attend the Missa do Galo, or Midnight Mass. These services may be held in Roman Catholic churches or on outdoor stages set up for the occasion. In recent years some people have begun to stay home to watch the television broadcast of the pope’s celebration of Midnight Mass in Rome.

Amish Christmas Customs

Most Amish schools prepare Christmas pageants. Since Amish children attend school right up till Christmas Day, the pageant is generally set for the afternoon of December 24. Parents and other relatives attend and watch with pride as their young people recite poems and take part in skits—many of which contain moral teachings about Christmas charity, faith, and love—and sing Christmas carols.

Earlier that day the children may have taken part in a gift exchange in which each child, having drawn a slip of paper with another child’s name on it, brings a present for that boy or girl. For most Amish, Christmas morning begins with farm chores. Afterwards the family gathers for breakfast and Christmas gifts in the kitchen. In nineteenth-century Amish families, parents set out plates on the kitchen table and piled their children’s presents on top. They usually gave their children things like nuts, raisins, cookies, candy, and rag dolls and other homemade toys. Other Pennsylvania Dutch families also set out Christmas plates in past times. The custom of setting out Christmas presents on the kitchen table seems to have died out among other groups, however. Today Amish families exchange a few useful gifts on Christmas morning. Typical gifts include simple toys such as skates and sleds, books, homemade candies and cookies, kitchenware, and household items. A large Christmas dinner completes the day’s activities.

On December 26 the Amish celebrate “second Christmas.” This custom, once common in Pennsylvania Dutch country, came into being so that those who devoted much of December 25 to religious observance did not miss out on all the Christmas fun. It’s a popular day for family outings, visits, games, and other leisure activities.

The Dawn of Christmas in Europe

Christianity gradually made its way across Europe, bringing Christmas with it. The holiday came to England, for example, via St. Christianity gradually made its way across Europe, bringing Christmas with it. The holiday came to England, for example, via St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, who reportedly baptized more than 10,000 English people on December 25, 598. Acting under the direction of Pope Gregory I, Augustine was also instrumental in bringing the celebration of Christmas to the area.

At the end of the sixth century, the pope instructed Augustine to make over the midwinter Yule festival into Christmas observances, emphasizing the importance of condoning any customs from the festival that could be found to contain Christian significance. It was a well-tested strategy, and it worked.

In ninth-century England, Alfred the Great declared that the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany should be reserved for seasonal festivities, thus formalizing observation of the twelve days of Christmas in England. Alfred was serious about celebrating: As part of his declaration, he made working during this period illegal. He followed his own rules, even at great cost. In 878, he refused to go to war during the twelve days of Christmas. His failure to do so is said to have caused  England to lose the Battle of Chippenham to the Danes.

Christmas arrived in Germany in 813, via the Synod of Mainz, and was brought to Norway in the mid-900s by King Hakon the Good. By the end of the ninth century, Christmas was observed all over Europe with trees, lights, gifts, and feasts. The items that had held significance for the old religions were either tossed aside or altered to fit within a Christian context. Over the centuries, the holiday was increasingly reformed to contain fewer of the old pagan elements.

There are some who believe that King Arthur celebrated the First English Christmas in 521 with his Knights of the Round Table, without the input of either Augustine or Gregory. Given the legends surrounding King Arthur, however, this remains the territory of myth, rather than fact.

Who Is Santa Claus?

Although his roots reach back into antiquity, the man we know as Santa Claus has been refined and popularized largely through the media of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In fact, two written accounts—Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and the New York Sun’s famous response to young Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897 query about him - probably did the most to establish Santa as a figure in the popular imagination.

But, even though his most memorable features are relatively recent, Santa Claus evolved from many sources over many years—most notably from the life and deeds associated with St. Nicholas, an early Christian bishop in the land of Asia Minor, in what is now western Turkey.

These days, the Vatican has its doubts about St. Nicholas. A special report penned in 1969 by senior Church officials concluded that many of the recorded deeds of some of the early saints—including the forerunner of Santa—may well be those of legendary heroes rather than historical personages.

The records of Nicholas’s life certainly appear to be a mixture of fact and fantastic myth, but there is no denying the impact that this revered figure had on the development of the Santa Claus tradition. As a saint, he remains immensely popular in Europe, where there are more churches named for him than for any apostle.

Ten Ways for Christmas

Top Ten Ways to Make Christmas Meaningful for Your Family

1. Find a favorite Christmas story and make it a tradition to read it aloud on Christmas Eve.

2. Share your good fortune with others at Christmas by volunteering as a family for a charity or non-profit organization that’s close to your hearts.

3. Decorate your home each year with a special item that you’ve chosen or made as a family.

4. Choose your favorite holiday baking recipes and share an afternoon with friends and family baking up a storm.

5. Create a calendar with a different family photo each month to send to family and friends who can’t be with you during the year.

6. Plan an annual family activity for the Christmas season: It could be picking out the tree, tobogganing down a nearby hill, even heading to the local zoo—anything that captures the whole family’s interest.

7. Light the candles of an Advent wreath in succession every Sunday during December, talking about their symbolic meanings, such as love, hope, peace, and joy.

8. Buy or make a special tree ornament each year for the children in your family, and present them with the whole set when they have their own tree for the first time.

9. Turn letters to Santa into an event, with hot chocolate, cookies, and plenty of colorful pens and stickers to help with the letter writing.

10. Make writing thank-you letters for gifts a much-loved tradition, too, with yummy treats and a fun reward when the letters are finished.

Befana (La Strega, La Vecchia)

On Epiphany Eve children in Italy go to bed expecting La Befana to visit the house during the night. She leaves gifts for children who have been good during the past year and warns those who have misbehaved. The name “Befana” comes from the Italian word for Epiphany, Epiphania. La Befana may also be referred to as La Strega, meaning “the witch,” or La Vecchia, meaning “the old woman.”

Although not much is known about the history of this figure from Italian legend, some authorities believe that La Befana may be related to Berchta, another witch-like figure who visits homes in central and northern Europe during the Twelve Days of Christmas and, especially, on Twelfth Night. La Befana also appears to be related to Baboushka, a Russian folk figure about whom a nearly identical tale is told.

Advent Candle

A number of different Advent customs require the lighting of candles. Some writers believe that the use of candles during Advent may have been adopted from the fires and lights that illuminated pre-Christian midwinter festivals. Before the widespread use of electric lighting, the twinkling candles not only served to dispel the gloom of the long winter nights, but also represented the hope of light and life to come. In Christian terms, the flame of the Advent candle represents the coming of Jesus, “the light of the world” (John 8:12).

Placing a lighted candle in the windowsill is perhaps the simplest Advent candle custom. In Europe during centuries past, a flickering candle in the window symbolized the offer of hospitality to nighttime wayfarers. Some believed the glowing light might even attract the Christ child. The Irish brought with them the tradition of placing a lighted candle in the windowsill at Christmas time when they emigrated to the United States. In the late nineteenth century groups of carolers popularized the custom in Boston. From there the practice spread to other American cities. The citizens of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, keep candles in their windows at Christmas time, though they trace their tradition back to the town’s Moravian founders. Christmas time candles also twinkle in the windows of historic Williamsburg, Virginia. The custom there developed as a means of decorating historic district homes in a manner consistent with the town’s colonial architecture and décor.

In the American Southwest people decorate the exteriors of their homes with luminarias, candles placed in brown paper bags filled with sand. This custom originated in Mexico. Many churches hold special candle-lighting services sometime during Advent. Often, each person attending is given a candle. The lighting of these candles then becomes part of the service.

Advent wreaths may be found in both home and church Advent observances. These wreaths contain four candles, one for each of the four Sundays of Advent. One is lit on the first Sunday of Advent. One more candle is lit on each of the following Sundays until on the fourth Sunday of Advent all four candles burn in unison. These four Advent candles may also be used without a wreath. 

Advent

Advent (Christmas Lent, Little Lent, St. Philip’s Fast, Winter Lent)

The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” The Advent season serves as a period of spiritual preparation for the coming of Christmas. Advent calls Christians to reflect on both the birth of Jesus and on the Second Coming of Christ. In Western Christianity Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30, St. Andrew’s Day, and lasts till December 24, thereby extending over a period of 22 to 28 days. In the Orthodox Church Advent begins on November 15.

The Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions view Advent as the beginning of the Church year. The liturgical color for Advent is purple, reflecting the repentant mood characteristic of early Church Advent observances. By contrast, many popular customs associated with this period joyfully anticipate the coming of Christmas.

Christmas

The child in me can’t wait anymore.

It is that time of the year once again when people are busy as ants preparing for this grand event. Each one is in a festive mode. All of a sudden, problems and worries are taken aside, issues are taken in high hopes of being resolved, and for once in every year in man’s existence in this world, there is love and peace all over.  Christmas it is.

 To some, it is an opportunity and a chance to give hope one more try to make its way through our hearts.  Luckily enough, this miraculous day does not let us down. More issues are addressed, in all aspects of human condition at least, even for a day.

Our personalities can ever be so grateful in this wonderful event that enveloped us. And just like a small kid that pulls her mother’s skirt to ask or beg, we sometimes do wish that Christmas will ideally be with us all year long for it gives joy, hope and peace to all.